Can beader



F. KRUEGER May 18,. Ii937.

CAN BEADER Filed July la, 195s 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 ATTORNEYS F. KRUEGER May 1s, 1937.

CAN BEADER- Filed 'July 18, 1935 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR fr? F., KRUEGER May 18, 1937.

CAN BEADER Filed July 18, 1955 s sheets-sheet 3 Patented May 18,- 1937 PATENT Frank Krueger, BrooklymN.' Y., assignor to E, W.

Bliss Company, New York, N.- Y., a corporation of Delaware Application July 1s, 1935, 'serial No. 31,991

Claims.

This invention relates generally to the art of making can bodies, and more particularly to the formation of strengthening beads in such bodies.

During the past few years many innovations have been made in the canning industry. One of the most important of these, from the can Amakers'viewpoint, has been the rapid development of the art of packing materials under vacuum. Obviously, an evacuated can is subject to a constant external strain which tends to crush it, cause leaks, etc. Ordinary commercial can bodies are particularly subject to crushing because of the many flats and other surface irregularities which constitute points of' weakness.

' However, even a perfectly formed body may not be sulilciently strong to withstand this constant strain. For the purpose of strengthening lsuch cans it has been proposed to form one, or more, circumferential beads therein. My present invention aims to provide a machine which will form such circumferential beads at a very high speed; and which will at the same time smooth y out the surface irregularities and produce a truly 'round can. Other objects and various features of the invention will be made more apparent from the following description to be read in connection with'the accompanying drawings in which- Figure l isa fragmentary end View of a inachine embodying my invention, certain parts thereof being broken away better to show the interior construction.

l Fig. 2v is a sectional view taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. l. .I

Fig. 3. is a fragmentary sectional view of one of the can-carrying devices forming a part of the machine of Fig. l.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary plan'view of part of the mechanism of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is another view of the can-carryingmechanism of Figs.` 3 and 4, taken on lines 5-5 of Fig. 1. Fig. 6 is a fragmentary plan View on an enlarged scale of a. portion of the device of Fig. 1.

Fig. '7 is a diagrammatic representation of a partly formed can body.

' In general, can bodies are formed by wrapping a sheet metal can blank about a forming horn, interlocking the overlapping edges, soldering vthe resulting seam, and thereafter flanging the ends of the body to receive a suitable top, all ofv which is done in a well known manner. bodies tend to` have vsurface irregularities therein, such as indicated at a in Fig. '7. When a can of this4 general type is used for products which 'must be packed under vacuum, it is evident that (ci. 15s-'13) these surface irregularities tend to form lines of bers of beads; and further because worn parts Such can weakness which may result in a crushing of the can. For the purpose of strengthening such a can, I propose to remove these flats and, further, to form a plurality of circumferential beads therein. The resulting can hasbeen shown to have sufiicient strength to .withstand any strain to winch it will normally .be subjected. While these beads may be formed in any desired manv `thereon; and an external roll I2 having corresponding beading dies I3 formed thereon, as shown in Fig. 2. These rolls are parallelly mounted and are movable both away from and towards each other. It is apparent that when the rolls are displaced from each other a can body Il may be placed over the internal roll. Thereafter, when the rolls are brought together, the surface of the can will be squeezed therebetween, and by rotating the rolls, .a plurality of beads I5 correspending to the dies II and I3 will be the surface of the body. I 4 l.

`Freferably, the surface of the internal roll I0, with the exception of the die portions, is of a de formable character; and further, the deformable portions of the rolls are of a greater diameter than are the non-deformable die portions. This composite structure may be made in any desired way, but as here shown it comprises ak plurality of non-deformable die rings I6 spaced apart by non-deformable spacing rings I 1, a'nd a plurality of deformable rings I8 which are concentric to the spacing rings. As can be seen in the lower part of Fig. 2, the deformable 'rings I8 are of greater diameter than are the die rings I6. The rings I6, I1 and I8, are suitably keyed, as at I9. to a spindle and they are held against longitudinal displacement between a shoulder 2| and a threaded end cap 22.

The external roll may be, made in any desired manner and from-`any desired material. Preferably, however, it comprises a plurality of nondeformable die rings 60 and a plurality of nondeformable spacing rings 6I suitably mounted upon a spindle 30. These built-up rolls are particularly advantageous because the dies may be differently arranged to provide different nummay be easily replaced. When the rolls are brought together, itv is evident that the external roll will indent the rings. I8 to the extent of the difference in the diameters of these rings and the die rings I6. Thus, a can body which is 55 oFFicEjo-v` rolled into f 'slred manner, whereupon the die portions engage the can body and roll the bead therein, -and theremaining portions of the two rolls nex and wave-bend the remaining part of thecan body in accordance with the aforementioned patent, thereby working the material in such manner as to remove any surface irregularities. It is evident that one unitcomprising an internal and external roll would accomplish the beading and-smoothing of the can. However, in order to perform this operation at substantially thesame speed with which thefcans are produced, I contemplate utilizing a number of.-

these units in a single machine. As shown in Fig. 1, eight of .these umts are disposed about the periphery of a suitable frame 23, which frame is rotatedin any desired manner about a stationary axle 24, the axle 24 preferably being,

disposed in a horizontal position. In ilxed relation with the axle 24 is an internal ring gear 23, and two stationary cams 23 and 21 (Figs. 2 and 3). The cam l23 comprises a suitable groove in the face of a plate 23 which abuts and is fastened to the ring gear by means of suitable screws. Around the periphery of the ring gear, and in mesh therewith, are a plurality of planet pinions 29, these pinions being carried on the outer end of the spindles 2l of the internal rolls I3, the spindles being suitably journalled asl at 40 I3 in frame 23. 'I'he external rolls I2, preferably, are mounted in such fashion as to be movable away from and towards the internal rolls.

Accordingly, each Spindle 33 of each externalV roll I2, is journalled in two sliding rods 3i, the

' 45 sliding masbeing mounted in suitable radier slots 32 of the-frame 23.l Each slide rod has a racl: 33 formed thereon which meshes with a .J corresponding gear 34 formed on a shaft 3l, the

y shaft 33 being journalled in the frame 23. The 50 inner end of the shaft 35 carries a crank-block 3l, to which a roller 31 is suitably fixed, the roller 31 being disposed within )the cam groove 23 hereinbefore referred to.L In operation, as the frame 23 rotates about the shaft 29, the

55 stationary cam 23 will impart a reciprocatoryl, 36:

motion to the roller 31 of the crank-bloc a'nd this motion will be transmitted vthrough shaft 35 to the slide rods 3|, thus moving the external roll i2 towards and away from the in- .60 ternal roll I9. Further, the rotary movement of the frame 23 with respect to the rin'ggear 25 results in a rotation of pinions 29, and hence,

the internal rolls III.

In order to feed can bodies toi the rolls, each' slidably attached to the rods 40 by means of a tension spring 42 which is disposed within the hollow end portion of the rod 40. A suitable pin 43, attached at one of its ends to. the guide- 39,'` '75 extends through a hole 44 in the guide 38 and ,beads on can bodies.

.sperma f amis against ledge Il oi the frame n. when in this position, the end guides 33 and 39 are separated to such an extent that a can bodymay' be positioned therebetween. 'I'he rods 40, which are slidably mounted in the frame 23, extend out f over the face of thestationary drum cam 21; and

roller 4I. which is carried on a bridge 49 connecting the rods, is disposed within' the groove constituting this cam 21. When the carrier is in the full-line pomtion of Fig. 3, the end guides 33 and 33 will be held open against the tension of spring 42 by pin 43. In this position, the star wheel 43 of a suitable well-known can feeden 41 deposits a can upon the carrier where it will be held between the concave abutmentsr 43 and 43 of the guides 33 and J33, respectively, and a suitable spring-pressed plate 59. As the frame 23. rotates from the position A to position B (Fig. l), the rollerI 45 'will traverse the sinuous course of the cam 21, consequently forcing the rods 40 endwise towards the internal roll It. As the carrier moves away from the ledge 3i of the frame 23, the pin 43 will be disengaged there from and, coigequently, the spring 42 will move the end guide 39 towards the end guide 33, thus firmly grasping the ends of the can- I4 therebetween. At the same time, both of these end guides and the can will be moved to the position indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 3, and in this position the can body I4 will be disposed over the internal roll l0.

, At this point it may be recalled that one of the primary objects of the invention is to form The exact positioning," or accurate location, of such beads is usually a matter of considerable importance, and particularly sowhen the can is made from tin-plate on which a design has previously been lithographed. In

this latter case it is usually desirable to have the beads register with a desired part of the printed design. This may be done by properly arranging the beading and spacing dies, and then holding a can body in a desired relationship thereto. With regard to the latter step, it is'essential that the ends of the can shall be firmly gripped by the end 'guides 39and 39 of the carrier in order to avoid end play. This is primarily accomplished by means of thespring 42, which tends to pull the end guides together, thereby grasping the ends of the can. However, in order to insure a positive positioning of the can body with respect to the beading dies, I provide a registering stop, generally designated by the numeral 62 (Fig. 3), for each of the beading units. The stop may be made in any desired manner, -but preferably it comprises a bolt 63 which is threaded into the frame 23 and locked in position by means of a suitable nut 64.' In operation, as the cari carrier approaches the dotted-line position of Fig. 3,'

the end ofbolt'63 will engage the end guide 39 of the can carrier and force it toward end guide 38, thus insuringithat the can will be firmly gripped and accurately 'positioned with 'respect to the beading dies. As soon as the can is in this position, the roller 31 will be acted upon by the cam 26 to force the external roll into contact with the internal roll. During the progress of the frame from the position B to position E, the ring gear will cause a rotation of the internal roll and a consequentsmoothing and beading of the can body as hereinbefore described. As the frame approaches position F, the cam 26 acting on the roller 31 will retract the external roll I2; ,and as the frame movesfrom position F to position H, the cam 21 will cause a retraction of the end guides 38 and 39 from the dotted-line position of of Fig. 3 to the full-line position thereof, at which `point the pin I3 will again engage the facejl of the frame to displace 'the guide 39 from the 5 guide 38, thus releasing the ends of the can body.

Consequently, the can body will fallonto a suitable chute 52 and be carried away in any deiied mannen. 'I'he chute 52 and the stay plate 50 are adjustably mounted as at53 and 5l, respectively, to permit the machine to be used with can bodies of different sizes.

In order to accomplish the beading function of have a certain amount of play. Accordingly,

2Q the recess 56, in whichthe race 51 of the spindle is held, is enlarged preferably along an axis X-X at an angle to the center line of the rods 3| (Fig. 6). lThe race is suitably backed up along the axis by means of a spring 58, which is held 25. in compression by a cap screw 59. When the thickened portion 55 of the can approaches the line of contact between the rolls, the external roll I2 will move away from the internal roll III, thereby to accommodate the can seam. Thus, the rolls III and I2 are self-adjusting to care for the varying thickness of any given can body. Since certain changes may be `made in the construction without in any way departing from the scope of the invention, it is intended that the embodiments therein shown and described shall be construed in an illustrative rather than in a limiting sense.

What I claim is: l. A machine for treating can bodies'compris- O ing internal and 4'external rolls which are adapted to receive an open-ended can body therebetween, said rolls having circumferential beading dies formed thereon, and means for rotating said rolls whereby the cani body maybe rolled therebetween, said machine being further characterized in that the internal roll comprises alternate rings of deformable and non-deformable material, the J non-deformable rings having beading dies formed thereon, and the deformable rings being of ,.0 greater diameter than the non-deformable rings. 2. A machine for treating can bodies comprising an internal roll having circumferential beading dies formed thereon, ,means for positively rotating said internal roll, a pair of spaced slide rods having vracks formed thereon, an external roll having circumferential beading dies formed thereon which are complemental to the dies on v the internal roll and having its opposite ends journaled in saidspaced slide rods, a pair of gears in mesh with the racks on said slide rods,and

means for rotating said gears whereby theA slide rods and the external roll carried thereby may be moved with respect to the internal roll.

3. A machine for treating can bodies comprising parallelly mounted internal and external rolls,

'65 said rolls having circumferential beading dies formed thereon, means` for positioning a can body over the internal. roll, means for moving said external roll towards said internal roll whereby the can body may be squeezed thereo between, means for rotating said rolls whereby a bead may be rolled onto said can body, said external roll being self adjusting with respect to said internal roll to` accommodate the thickened ing parallelly mounted internal and external rolls seam portion of the can body.

5 4. A machine for treating can bodies comprisr `internal roll and a can body positioned Vtherefor accommodating the journals of said external ing internal and'external rolls one of which is movable both towards and away from the other, l a pair of slide rods for supporting the oppomte ends ofthe movableroll, each of said rods having 1 a recessed -portion for accommodating end cf said roll, said recessed portion being elongated lwhereby the roll may have a limited movement with respect to said rods.

5. A machine according to claim 4in which the ends of themovable roll are provided with lo bearings, and springs for backing up said-'bearings along the line of elongation of said recessed portions. 5

6. -A machine according to claim 4yin 'which` the recessed portions are elongated along an axis l5 which is at an angle to the center. line of said 7. A machine for treating can-bodies comprising parallelly mounted internal and external rolls having corresponding circumferential beading dies formed thereon, means for movingsaid ex- .A

ternal roll away from said internal roll whereby an open-ended can body may be positioned over the internal roll and for moving the external roll towards said internal roll whereby to grasp said can body therebetween, means `for positively rotating said inner roll whereby a circumferential -bead will berolled into said body, said machine being further characterized in that one of the rolls is radially deformable along a portion of its '30 extent and the other roll is non-deformable at corresponding points whereby the non-deformable roll will indent the deformable portions of the other roll and a can body positioned therebetween when the rolls are brought together. '35

8. A machine according to claim 7, which is l further characterized in that the internal roll comprises alternate ringsfof deformable andnondeformable material, the non-deformable rings having beading dies formed thereon, and the deformable rings being of greater diameter than the non-deformable rings, andthe external roll is non-deformable throughout its length whereby it will indentA the deformable portions of the between when the rolls are brought together.

9. A machine for treating can bodies comprising an internal roll, means for positively rotating said internal roll, anexternal roll, a' pair of slide rods for supporting the opposite ends of the external roll, means for reciprocating said slide rods whereby the external lroll .may be moved towards and away from the internal'roll, each of said slide rods having a recessed portion roll, said recessed portions being elongated whereby the roll may .have a limited movement with respect to said slide rods.)

10. A Amachine for treating can bodies comprising internal and external rolls, one of which is movable both towards and away from the other, a pair of slide rods for supporting the opposite ends of said movable roll, each of said rods having .a recessed portion for accommodating the journaled portion of said movable roll, said recessed portion being elongated along an axisl which is at an angle to the center line of each of said rods 'whereby the roll may have a limited movement with respect to said rods, and springs `for backing up said journaled portions of said movable roll along the line of elongation of said recessed portion.

11. A machine for treating can bodies comprishaving complemental circumferential beading 'I5 away from each other whereby a can body may be positioned over the internal roll and towards each other to squeeze the can body therebetween, and means for rotating said rolls, said machine .being further characterized in that one of the -rolls is radially deformable along a portion of its extent and the other roll is nonfdeformable at corresponding points whereby the non-def- ]0 /formable roll will indent the deformable portions of the other roll 'and the can body positioned therebetween when the rolls are brought together. 12. A machine for treating can bodies comprising a plurality of units each consisting of an i n ternal and an external roll having corresponding circumferential beading dies formed thereon, means for moving the rolls of each unit towards and away from each other, a carrier associated with each unit, said carrier comprising guides which are adapted to grip the ends of a can body, means for moving said carrier towards and away from said rolls in a direction parallel to the axis of said rolls, whereby the can body may be positioned between said rolls, and means for rotating said rolls whereby circumferential beads may be rolled into said body.

13. A machine for treating can bodies comprising a plurality of units each` including an internal and an external roll having complementa] circumferentialbeading dies formed thereon, means for moving one of the rolls both away from and towards theotherroll. a can body carrier associated with each unit comprising a'slide rod, a`

pair of end guides mounted upon said slide rod forA gripping the opposite ends of the can body and a cam for reciprocating said rod whereby to displace a can body endwise over one of said rolls, and means for locating the can body with dies formed thereon, said rolls` being movable' 'respectto the beading dies comprising an' adjustablestop element against which one of the end guides abuts when the carrier is in a desired position with respect to said rolls.

14. A machine according to claim 13 in which 5 the carriercomprises a paiyof end guides for' gripping `the opposite ends of a 'can body mounted upon a slide rod, one of said guides being Slidably fastened to the rod and the other being stationarily fastened thereto, and a spring for drawing the siidabie. guide towards the stationary one. whereby to grip the opposite' endsof a can body; and the means`i'or locatingthe can v body with respect to the beading dies comprises an adjustable stop against which the slidable guide abuts when the can is in a desired position with respect to the beading dies.` 15. A machine for treating can bodies comprising a pl ternal and an external roll having corresponding circumferential beading dies Aformed thereon,

means for rotating the internal roll of each unit, means for moving one of the rolls, of each unit both towards and away from the other roll, a can body carrier associated with each unit. said car-A 3 rier comprising end guides which are adapted to grasp the opposite ends of a'can body, means f or moving said carrier towards and away from the rolls in a direction parallel to the axes thereof whereby to position a can body between said rolls and subsequently to withdraw the body therefrom, and means for stopping the movement of the carrier towards the roll at a predeterminedY point whereby the can body carried thereby may be accurately positioned beading dies on said rolls.

FRANK mUEGER.

ty ofsunitsfea'ch including an ins with respect to the 35 

